Friday, September 28, 2012

I'm enrolled in three-week-long MobiMOOC 2012 right now, and am taking it for two knowledge-based reasons (goals?)--to learn more about the use of Mobile Devices and to become better with my participation skills in the MOOC course experience.

My participation has been less than stellar. I have one badge so far, and my actually earn a second.

The organization is quite good, but I've had trouble finding some topics to post two after a week has gone by.

WHY OFFER A MOOC?

Knowing I was participating in a MOOC, a colleague emailed this week about an internal discussion they were having about MOOC offerings--she asked for some thoughts, so here goes:

I'd ask what the institution wishes to gain from offering a MOOC? Prof Dev/continuous learning

for a workforce? The appearance of offering a cutting edge model? Recruitment potential? Why do faculty members come forward and ask to offer MOOCs? Given the existing MOOCs, if a student came forward with the highest badge of MOOC completion, which current MOOC courses would your institution accept? (CSU Global is now accepting Udacity's Intro to Computer Science: Building a Search Engine for Credt: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/09/06/csu-global-offers-transfer-credit-for-udacity-class/.)

That said, I note that I feel more enthusiastic when I start to read and respond to others remarks, and to view the webinars. I tend to need time to think about things before I write; and I also know I'm burnt out on the amount of textworld I've been dealing with.
Excuses aside, I congratulate Inge Ingatia de Waaard for providing this learning opportunity. I have at least one more post related directly related to the mobimooc topic-- the course did inspire me to interview a woman who is training others in the use of Ipad and Itouch devices and apps to support self-management and independence by users with brain injuries and memory issues.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

This fall is the first time I’ve not been teaching online, face-to-face, or working in the training field since I can remember. I’ve been describing this fall as
“a sabbatical” with the intention to read and continue learning about the recent developments in cognitive science and learning, and technology for learning. It has been a luxury to have time to read and think, though I would admit, I’m not doing much writing online, and ascribe this to the amount of online facilitation and communications from which I was taking a break.
When I saw the MobiMOOC opportunity at https://mobimooc.wikispaces.com/General+information+on+the+course, I
thought “Great, this is a great opportunity to learn more about mobility AND better understand how MOOCs work. This said, I was already a one-time MOOC drop-out.

Initially, I had admirable intentions:
I sought out Dave’s Cormier’s advice on successful MOOC participation: “Orient, Declare, Network, Cluster, and Focus.” (View my post on his earlier slideshare on this topic.)
And before the course even started, I posted a note communication my anticipation to meet and learn with and from colleagues.

WEEK 2
By the end of week one, I thought, “I’d better get in there. As I read through more of the intros, I was energized by the good will, the experience, and the global assembly of peers in the course.
Ignatia’s general discussion prompt for Week 2 was inviting—asking us what tools we used. I liked the word tools—it allowed the spectrum, devices, browsers, services, applications—which is also a lot of landscape.

TOOLS FOR MLEARNING
Devices: I use a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet.
Apps, Sites, and Services: These include Evernote, Dropbox, Skype, all things Google, Kindle Reader, Goodreader. Twitter, Conjuverb, The Wasteland (Ipad), Jazz Timeline (Ipad). I love resources at Smarthistory and Open Culture, YouTube, Linked In Groups, Searches w/ Google and Wikipedia are used for a quick sense of background on a given topic. And I learn from experts and peers through live webinars in Google Hangout, Blackboard Connect, WiziQ, or Adobe Connect.

At this point in Week 2, I won’t say I’m such a wonderful participant as the badge promises, but I really do feel connected and engaged and am happy I attended the webinar today by Bijoy Banerjee on universal platform design for multiple devices. We joined from various locations such as Australia, England, India, and the U.S.
Not only did he reinforce the categories involved in mLearning, he explained how html5 allows for universal design across devices. He used screen share to provide examples and demonstrate their learning activities for both K-12 and post-secondary students.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Have you been to events that use social media such as Twitter, but there seems to be a lot of confusion about the #hashtags,for instance?
This presentation provides tips on the management of social media with specific events, as well as the bigger picture of relationship building.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

As I said, more on MOOC's -- this time from the design and facilitation side. Thanks to
George Siemens, MOOC pioneer, for sharing the most recent presentation. Thanks also to
the colleague from MOBIMOOC that brought it to my attention.